Connecter



W. McKx-:E

CONNECTER Sept 1; 1931.

Filed March lOl 1925 v l NVENTOR. WIIS W Keel BY 5 qlk/ ATTORNEY Patented sept. 1,1931

- WILLIS naman, or cLEvELm, omo, AssIcNon BANK, A CORPORATION or 'rma TO THE GENERAL-UNITED N-ATIONAL i UNITED STATES coNNncrEn S appnemonmea umn 1o, 192s. semi No. sacas.

This invention relates to couplings for joining cylindrical objects and particularly forv joining unthreaded sections of thin lWalled tubing, such as that commonly used f in forming conduits for electric Wiring.

Thin walled tubing of the character generally used to form conduits for electric Wiring and other purposes is very dillicult to thread. It is easily damaged when threaded and dilicult to cut to size and thread during installation. v

The invention herein proposed overcomes this difficulty by providing a unitary as` .sembled connecter'that may be slipped over 15 the abutted unthreaded end portions of the tube to be connected and readily tightened thereon by turning one element of the connectei' relative to the other connecter element to provide a very strong water-excluding connection between the abutted ends of the unthreaded tubing without the use of special y tools and without expanding or otherwise deforming or threading Athe abutted ends of the s tubing. Both the connecters and the tubing may be re eatedly disassembled and reconnected wi out injury. s

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a connecter of the above character that is assembled as a unitary device when manufactured andthat need not be subsequently disassembled at any time, thus providing a device that is readily handled at the place of installation without loss of parts or the use of special tools and that will withstand rough treatment without resultant battering of exposed threads. v

An additional object of the invention-isvto provide a connecter of inexpensive `design that may be applied to the Unthreaded ends ofthin walled tubing by the use otl a pair of ordinary wrenches and ywithout the use .of expanders, threading tools or other speciali equipment now conventlonally used.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawlngs 1sl a longitudinal sectional view of an assembled connecter unit constructed in accordance' with my invention, shown loosely mounted 1n position for subsequent ti tening on the opposed ends of abutted thm walled tubm Fig. 2 is an end. view of the connecter ookp the sleeve 10,

ing in the direction of the arrows associated with the line 2 2 off'Fig. 1, showing a transverse section of the tubing to be connected thereby. v

Fig. 3 is acorresponding view of the other 55 end of the connecter lookin in the direction of the arrows 3 3 of Fig.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the connecter tightened on the'opposed end portions of the connected tubing, portions of the connected tubing being shown as broken away. l

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a modified form of helical winding for use in a coupling constructed in accordance with this invention. Y

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a complex helical l winding formed of round wires of diii'erent diameters for use in the coupling herein proposed; and

Fig. 7 is a view of a simple helical winding of roundwire shown in enlarged crosssection.

The connecter herein vproposed comprises an externally threaded collar or open-ended sleeve 10 that preferably has a wrench engaging face 11 formed on one end thereof and that is internally provided with a wedging face 12 preferably of substantially conical form and disposed adjacent the open end 13. The opening through the collar is of sufficient size to freely receive 'the end portion ofv a section of tubing 14 that is tobe connected with an abutting section of tubing 15 or with a suitably formed fitting.

A second sleeve 16 that is internally threaded to engage the external threadsof as a wrench en aging faceI formed on its outer face. The slgeeve 16 also has an internal conicall or flared wedging face 17 formed adjacent the open end por-l tion 18 of the sleeve and flared in op osed relation vto the wedging face 12 i) the sleeve 10.

A helical windin 19 ofpacking material is disposed within t e o posed frusto conical or flared pockets 12 an 17 of the connectedv sleeves 10 and 16. This helical winding is preferably of relativel malleablemetallic wire ot polygonal andy preferably quadri- 10 lateral cross-sectional form, although this ,l packn material may be of any form or materialt at is adapted to rovide the necessary mechanical connection lietween the ends of the tubing and the desired degree of fluid excluding sealed connection for the joint. The use of a packing material havin asubstantial area of latera-l contacting ace be- I tween adjacent turns of the helical winding servesto effectively exclude water from the .connection and provides avcompact cylindrical sleeve that tightly engages the face of.

the tubing connected thereb This is desirable if the connected con uits 'or fittings are intended for use with electrical wiring.

Although the helical winding of packing material is' illustrated in its preferred form as of a single helically wound wire of substantially square cross-section, any other desired form of helical winding could be used. A com lex helix formed of wires 20 and 21 having different cross-sectional shapes as shown in enlarged section in Fig.v Y 5 or of round wires 22 and 23 of different d1- ameters as illustrated in Fig. 6 may also be effectively used. It is also desirableV in some instances to use'a simple helix of round wire 24 such as that shown in Fig. 7 with'or withf out a coating of thick shellac, cement or 'other sealing material applied internallyto the helical winding or to theV opposed end portions of the connected tubing just prior to installationof the connecter in order to obtain a very inexpensive andwater-tight connecter.

lThe helical winding is wound ia am reverse direction from the direction of vthe screw threads formed on the sleeves 11 and 16 in order that when one of the `sleeve ele`-" ments is turned relative tothe other to draw the two together, the oppositeend portions of the packing will be engaged by the wedging faces v orV pockets of the connecter and turned in a. direction causing the packing to be wound more tightly about the cylindrical v *face of the abutting end portions of the tube I to'be connected thereby. The tightenin of the helical winding is alsoaccom a-nie by the longitudinal compression of t e helical pacln'ng, each turn bein forced against the adjacent turns by the rawing together of the sleeve elements'. In'vthis way the entire winding of packing material is drawn tightly against the outer face of the tube and is simultaneousl 'compressed longitudinally to a very great egree by the compacting reslsure of the opposed v'sleeve members o the- The coupling herein proposed is assembled for shipment as shown in Fig. 1 without, of course, beingmounted on the abutting ends of the tubing to be connected.` The threaded portions of the connecter are protected by their intereiigagement and the helical winding or packing is completely housed within the connecter. The complete unit as intended for commercial use comprises opposed end portions 10 and 16 and the packing material' 19 assembleda's shown in Fig. ll. The helical winding of packing material is preferably of substantially the same internal diameter as the openings `through the opposite -ends of the sleeve elements. The o ening through the assembled unit is somew at larger than the tubing to be connected thereby. The connectermay, therefore, readily be placed over the abuttingV unthreaded ends of lthe tube,

' tened or roughened ortions. With the relapacking is preferably tive .movement of t e connecter portions ii". turning one with respect to the other, the f' packing is tightened on the tubular memberv and the joint between the opposedends of the A tube is made substantially tight, and very rigid. With very thin walled tubing, the end "u portions of thehelical winding may actually beforced into the side wall of the tubing thus vproviding an extremely durable andl rigid connection.

Unthreaded thin walled tubing is much less im expensive to make than threaded tubing or tubing intended to be threaded at the place of installation and it can be shipped to the' place of installation without the careful handling required with threaded tubing. No special tols are required for its installation because it may be'cut by an ordinary saw and irregularities in the end faces are not detrimental. The installation of the unthreaded tubing using the proposed coni" necter is very rapid, and the tubing sections are accurately aligned regardless of irregular end faces. These are material commercial advantages ofconsiderable importance.

Furthermore, it is to bey understood that the particular forms of the proposed connecter shown and described, and the procedure set forth, are presented for purposes of explanation and illustration and that various modifications of said connecter and theA method of mounting can be made ywithout departing from rmy invention as defined in the appended claims.v

The arrangement whereby the frictional engagement of the ends ofthe helix with the coupling members to cause the tightening of the helix is an'important feature and ad-l vantageous as compared with' any recess and Af-f pro]ection arrangement, 'an accurate fitting of the parte.

What I claim is:

1. A coupling for connecting unthreaded tubular conduits comprising, an open-ended sleeve member having a conical seatin face l5 formed on the interior face thereof adgacent one end, an internally threaded portion and van external wrench-engaging face, a second p member'also havin a conical seatin face, an externally threa ed portion adapter? to en- 10 gage and interlock with the threaded portion of said first-named member, and an external wrench-engaging face formed thereon, a helical winding of greater internal diameter than the diameter of the tubularbodies to be 15 connected thereb carried within the opposed conical seatin f aces of said threaded members, said wining being formed o inherently non-plastic steel wire of quadrilateral 'cross-sectional form and being adapted to be N tightened by the relative turning of said members in a direction drawing said members toward each other to press the end por- Y tions'of said winding between said seating faces and the end portions of the conduits 1connected thereby and to force the winding radially into gripping contact with the abutted end portions of the conduit sections to provide a moisture excluding joint between the abutted tubular members. 5.0 2. A cou ling for connecting two ali ned smooth-sur aced tubes comprlsing a elix of inherently non-plastic, non-compressible material freely rotatable around the adjacent ends of the tubes,` and relatively rotatable parts around the helix and having interenv gaging screw threads tapering inner walls on said rotatable parts, the said inner walls engaging intimately and frictionally with the opposite ends of the helix and serving when (0 rotated relatively to create 'a frictional engagement at the ends of the helix sucient to Y contract the helix axially into substantially liquid tight contact of the turns of the helix with each other and radially into similarcon- '45 tact of the helix with the tubes.'

In testimony whereo laiiix my signature.

WILLIS MCKEE. 

